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“Allen Iverson and I got Lou Williams f**ked up for $15,000”: When Matt Barnes and the 76ers made a rookie Williams drink a 6-pack of beer

Samir Mehdi
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“Allen Iverson and I got Lou Williams f**ked up for $15,000”: When Matt Barnes and the 76ers made a rookie Williams drink a 6-pack of beer

Lou Williams was once forced to drink a 6-pack of beer for $15,000 during his rookie season with the Philadelphia 76ers by Allen Iverson and co. 

The Philadelphia 76ers were on the very tail-end of their chance to compete for Playoff contention, let alone a championship by the time the 2005-06 season rolled around. Allen Iverson was still one of the best scorers in the NBA and was the cornerstone of the franchise but other than him, the roster was made up of young guys and vets. 

With them going 38-44 and missing the Playoffs, the two good things about the season for Allen Iverson were the fact that Maurice Cheeks returned to the franchise and that they drafted Lou Williams. 

Lou-Will was chosen by the Sixers 15th overall in the 2015 NBA Draft, joining promising youngsters like Andre Iguodala and Kyle Korver as the future of the 76ers. From the get-go however, AI felt a special connection to Williams. 

Like Magic Johnson being Kareem’s rookie, Lou Williams was Iverson’s rookie. This led to the usual rookie hazing with one prank being notable in particular.

Also read: “Allen Iverson has a $1 million net worth but refused to give back $10,000 he unfairly won”: When the 76ers legend caused a scene at a casino and still found a way to benefit

Allen Iverson, Matt Barnes, and Chris Webber got Lou Williams drunk. 

During his rookie season 2005-06, Lou Williams was under AI’s wing for the most part. With him getting hazed by his mentor, he’d have to stay on his toes quite often. On an episode of All the Smoke, Matt Barnes and Williams chopped it up over a specific incident that took place where they bribed Lou into drinking a 6-pack of beer. 

“We made a bet that he had to drink a 6-pack. He’s fresh out of high school and that (expletive) killed it!” said Barnes. Lou continued on by saying, “They said I couldn’t drink a 6-pack of beer before we got on the plane for $15,000.” 

Of course, with Williams still having been a teenager, he couldn’t exactly hold his liquor all too well so he was quite drunk by the time he had to board the team plane to get to their next game of the week. This was quite an unfortunate circumstance as they had to fake him being sober due to him being underage. 

“He kind of had his arm slumped on AI’s shoulder and then me and Chris Webb was kind of in front. He was still there but he was- he handled himself well but he was f**ked up. You know what I mean? So had to kind of camouflage his a** up onto the plane,” said Barnes.

Despite the pranks and the hazing, the connection that exists between Allen Iverson and Lou Williams could not be more genuine. Lou worshipped the ground that AI walked on and the latter only wanted the future 6MOTY to achieve everything he ever wanted.

Also read: “Allen Iverson and Chris Webber poured water on me, didn’t they?” When Lou Williams was hilariously given his rookie treatment by Sixers legends

About the author

Samir Mehdi

Samir Mehdi

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Samir Mehdi is a senior strategist for the NBA division at The Sportsrush. Ever since he was 13 years old, he’s been obsessed with the game of basketball. From watching Kobe Bryant’s highlights on YouTube to now, analyzing and breaking down every single game on League Pass, Samir’s passion for the game is unwavering. He's a complete basketball junkie who not only breaks down current games but also keenly watches ones from the 60s’ and 70s’ while also reading comprehensive books on the history of the league. Samir’s life revolves around basketball and he hopes that shows in his work. Aside from work, he loves to spend time in the gym and with his friends at social gatherings.

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